Started stud career more or less by accident due to the illness of Sanford's main stallion. Gave to Benjamin Bruce, re-purchased for $2,000 when Vagrant (won KY Derby) emerged from that first crop. Sanford kept the horse for the remainder of his life, once refused an offer of $25,000 (a large sum at the time) for him. He reportedly set a price of $60,000 on Virgil.